Harry Potter's Fifth Year (no catchy title yet)
by Rowena of Tales
Summary: The Start-Of-Term Feast at Hogwarts, and a new Defense Against Dark Arts teacher is introduced.


**Harry Potter's Fifth Year**

(Sorry, I have yet to think of a catchy title)

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_"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,_

_but don't judge on what you see…"_

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Harry Potter had begun yet another year at Hogwarts. He was now a fifth year and a prefect: he had gotten the letter over the summer. The Dursleys were worse, if possible, to Harry, perhaps because of Fred and George Weasley's Ton-Ton Toffee. Dudley had recovered but was frightened silly of Harry, hiding from him most of the summer. His diet was beginning to take its toll, for Dudley was now roughly the size and weight of a young dolphin (last year it was more like a killer whale). His aunt Petunia shook her head, saying that her little boy was being starved, though Harry still thought he resembled a pig in a blonde wig.

He'd been much more subdued over the summer, in light of last year's events. Harry felt that nothing worse could happen at Hogwarts—or to him. His mind felt numb whenever he thought of Cedric Diggory, and Dumbledore's words at the End-of-Term banquet still rang in his mind. 

But he was happier than ever to be back at Hogwarts. At home with the Dursleys, he felt… _alone_. Unprotected. If anything happened to him, if he-who-must-not-be-named came after him—Harry had even stopped saying his name, or thinking hard about him, still afraid as he was of last year, of Voldemort regaining power—there would be no one who could help him…

Harry blinked furiously and shook his head. He wasn't going to think of things like that, he had a year of learning ahead of him. Instead he looked up at the stage of the Great Hall, where the Sorting of the first years was taking place. He glanced at the house tables, and noticed that there was now a table where ten strange people sat, next to Hufflepuff table. They looked like students but he had never seen them before.

"Hey, Ron," Harry murmured to his best friend, Ron Weasley, sitting next to him at the Gryffindor table. "D'you know who _they_ are?" he asked, pointing to the extra table.

"I dunno, maybe they're some more visitors from Beauxbatons or Durmstrang," said Ron, looking at the table.

"Maybe," replied Harry. He turned his attention back to the Sorting Hat Ceremony, which was now over. The tiny Charms teacher, Professor Fitwick, walked onto the stage to take the old Sorting Hat and the stool it sat on back to the headmaster's office. At least, that was what Harry thought. Instead, he merely pulled them to the side of the stage.

Albus Dumbledore rose and addressed all the students.

"Welcome to, or welcome back to, Hogwarts. I hope that all of you will have an excellent year indeed, there is so very much to learn here." Harry noticed he did not mention anything about last year; he was glad, because he didn't want to think anymore about the Triwizard Tournament, though sometimes he couldn't help it. Dumbledore seemed very cheerful as he continued.

"Some of you have heard rumours over the summer that Hogwarts will be hosting Foreign Exchange students-" this drew Harry's attention quickly. He had not heard anything about that, and was quite interested."-That is indeed true, and thanks to a very generous donation by none other than Professor Binns-" This caught Harry again. Half of the students turned their heads curiously toward Professor Binns, easily the most boring teacher Hogwarts had ever seen."-We were able to start the program this very year. Allow me to introduce to you ten fine students from Japan, Spain, Iceland, and the United States of America. From Japan, Miss Yuko Hoda."

A Japanese girl rose from the extra table next to Hufflepuff and bowed to the rest of the Great Hall, her short black hair falling from where it hung neatly behind her shoulders.

"Also from Japan, Wakako Kowaguchi." A pretty girl with black hair tied back in a bun and brown, almond-shaped eyes stood up and smiled to everyone else.

"One of three people from Spain, Carlos Rodriguez." A handsome boy with dark brown hair partly bleached stood up and grinned at everyone. Harry rolled his eyes as he heard the girls at Gryffindor table whisper excitedly.

"Pedro Castella," continued Dumbledore. A short, stout boy rose and nervously nodded his head at the students. He sat down very quickly.

"And also from Spain, Cara Malfoy." The entire hall went silent for several seconds, then whispers broke out like wildfire over the tables. Cara _Malfoy_, as in a relative of Draco Malfoy? Draco Malfoy, a very nasty Slytherin boy, had been Harry's enemy since they had started Hogwarts.

"Oh, no, not another one," Ron muttered next to him. Harry felt the same thing until he saw the girl stand up at the Exchange students' table. She had silvery-blond hair, like Draco's, but something about her appearance didn't even remotely resemble him. She was smiling and waving at everyone, pretending not to have noticed the whispers. Now they grew even larger. No one was certain whether she was related to Draco or not, she looked so different from him.

Suddenly Harry realized that Dumbledore had already announced the five other students, two boys from Iceland, and two girls and a boy from the United States of America. The Headmaster sat down and the Transfiguration professor and headmistress, Professor McGonagall, walked onto the stage.

"At the same token, ten Hogwarts students have left to Paris, France for a year of magical studying abroad, accompanied by Professors Severus Snape and Hazel Sprout." Harry and Ron gave each other astonished looks, and grinned. Their worst teacher, Snape, was in Paris. Snape, the Potions Master, was the most infuriating teacher they had at Hogwarts. Now, he would have to be replaced for a whole year! Harry took a look at the staff table and, sure, enough, there were some new people there. Three, it seemed. One was a tall man with whitish-yellow hair and sharp features. He looked Icelandic. At Professor Sprout's seat there was a very young woman with pretty brown hair and hazel eyes. Harry gasped when he saw that she was glowing, much like the Hogwarts ghosts, except this was a greenish glow, one that reminded him of the green of the forest's plants. She saw Harry and smiled, her teeth flashing white. The third teacher, who Harry immediately guessed was the new Defense Against Dark Arts teacher, was a woman, about thirty or forty, sitting next to Dumbledore. She had shiny red hair that hung in ripples down to her shoulders and sparkling green eyes, with a very hard expression on her face, without which she would have been very pretty. She was staring at the stage and Harry remembered that Professor McGonagall was talking about the exchange students that left from Hogwarts. "They are: Hannah Abbot, Cho Chang, Penelope Clearwater, Roger Davies, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Gregory Goyle-" Ron and Harry sniggered. Goyle was a very thick-headed Slytherin. He would probably be just as worse in Paris as at Hogwarts. "- Hermione Granger,-" Hermione, another of Harry's best friends, had been missing at the banquet. They had been worried, but didn't think too much of it, knowing studious Hermione would have made sure to clear it up with the Headmaster if she would be absent the first day of school. Harry could imagine her trying to learn perfect French before she left. "-Neville Longbottom, Pansy Parkinson, and George Weasley."

Harry turned and lightly cuffed Ron on the head. "Your brother left? Why didn't you tell me about it?"

"I tried to," Ron replied, "but George took Pig, and Percy's always using Hermes. Mum wouldn't let me use Errol because he's getting too old. We're probably going to just keep him as a pet from now on, he's not very useful anymore."

Harry apologized and told Ron he could use Hedwig since George took his owl Pigwidgeon to Paris. Then he listened as Professor McGonagall continued.

"I'm sorry that you didn't have a chance to see them off, but let us wish them luck. Now, in honor of our new students, they will each be sorted." Harry was barely watching, he was so hungry now. It was late; the enchanted ceiling of the Great Hall showed that it was already very dark outside. A smattering of stars were shining across the sky. He felt drowsy. He vaguely saw that one of the Japanese girls, Yuko, was put in Ravenclaw. The other was put into Gryffindor. Then the stout Spanish boy was put into Ravenclaw also; the Spanish boy with bleached hair was sorted into Hufflepuff. Two boys from Iceland, both with white-blond hair and blue eyes, came up. One was put into Slytherin; the other, in Hufflepuff. A pretty American girl with long brown hair rather like Hermione's was sorted into Gryffindor, and another taller American girl with rippling black hair and shimmering green eyes became a Slytherin. The American boy, short with gray eyes and red hair, walked away a Hufflepuff. Finally, Cara Malfoy caused even more whispers of amazement when she was sorted into Gryffindor. Harry felt somehow happy; he wanted to learn more about her.

And the Sorting was over. Without a last word by any of the teachers, delicious foods and drinks appeared steaming on the golden platters and goblets of the hall, their scent wafting up to the ceiling. Harry piled enough for almost two people onto his plate and dug in, his aching stomach satisfied. Before any of them could eat much, though, Dumbledore rose one last time, probably to announce the new teachers, Harry thought.

"And finally, I have three wonderful new teachers to announce! Because dear old Professors Sprout and Snape-" Ron snorted into his food and Dumbledore threw him a look of caution. "-have left for Paris, France, I must introduce our new Potions Master and Herbology teacher. This year, Professor Vindictus Viridian will be taking a break from the university courses he teaches at the North Denmark Institute of Magic to teach Potions for the year at Hogwarts."

"Professor Nerine Duir will fill in the role of Herbology professor this year, and I must say, I have no doubt that she will be a wonderful teacher to you all. And finally, our new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, stand up, dear lady, is Professor Phoenix Riddle."

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**A/N: Yes, I've read the Goblet of Fire. I know there's a different Sorting Hat song each year, I just started writing this before I read GoF, and then I lost the notebook that I wrote the beginning in, so I just rewrote it, and I thought people would recognize the Sorting song from the Sorcerer's Stone, _kay? _Good. Beginning's not that eventful, but I have a lot planned out. It's sort of like the Prisoner of Azkaban, my story. Voldie's in it, 'cause reading GoF you know what happens… but I've created maybe thirteen new characters. Also, I could really use some constructive criticism. Thanks. Bu-bye now. **


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